Larva
by Meushell
Summary: The loss of Egeria from the point of view of a Tok'ra larva.


Title: Larva  
Author: Meushell  
Disclaimer: If you recognize it, then it's not mine.  
Summary: The loss of Egeria from the point of view of a Tok'ra larva.  
Rating: PG-13  
Warning: Symbiote incest mentioned. Normal for them.

-Day 1-

"I booorrn!" the two second old larva squealed.

"I first," bragged another.

The first chirped in annoyance before swimming up to the surface to greet it's queen. The host was in control, letting the queen rest after birth. Her fingers graced along the backs of the larvae. "You all did a wonderful job being born."

"You should rest too," called out a masculine symbiote voice.

Accessing its memories, the larva instantly identified the male. Per'sus. Sibling. Leader. Chosen. His hosts provided the needed DNA needed to strengthen the ability for Egeria's children to blend with human hosts. Their queen was there to select each new host as a result. She and her hosts were very selective.

Her current host was still in the lake, having not moved from her spot.

"Versha," Per'sus called.

"I will come. Make sure they are fed." Versha smiled before spotting the larva, who was one of the few still at the surface. "Her youngest." She loved them, but she did not consider the children to be hers. "Yong One," she added, giving the larva a temporary name.

Per'sus smiled as he saw one of his newest siblings picked up. "For now, you are the youngest of the Tok'ra."

Young One didn't like that, and it chirped in annoyance.

"I was once the youngest," Per'sus added before smiling. "That was over 900 years ago. Now I am among the oldest."

Young One felt better as it was set in the water. It nudged Versha towards the shore. At least it told itself that's what it was doing. It and it's young siblings followed her along, where she was helped up by Per'sus. She turned to them and bowed her head. There were squeals of excitement as their queen took control.

"I have given all of you the memories of our mission. In the years to come, I will teach you more, and you will each be important to the goals of the Tok'ra," she paused for happy squeals. "I am glad that you are all excited, but please understand, Versha and I must rest now. My other children will take care of you." She gestured to others, who stood near the lake. "I will return when I can."

Young One and the others squealed goodbyes and of their love as she left with Per'sus. It was excited. It had been born and named. Now it just had to grow up and join the rebellion.

-Day 2-

She had greeted them today, but that was about it. Young One was curious as many of her hosted children came to the lake with tanks. It didn't take long to realize that more larvae would be joining them. Though still children, unhosted, they were several years older. Young One realized they had been taken out to give the newest arrivals time to adjust on their own.

It watched as they were put in, and one quickly swam to it. "Hello."

Young One hoped they were playful. "Hello." It swam around the older one.

"Tree," it introduced itself.

"Young One."

"Hello Young One."

-Day 11-

She didn't come as often as they liked, but that was understandable, she must be busy. Young One was excited when it heard one of it's siblings calling out, "Queen! Queen!"

Young One joined in, and joined the others on the way to the shore. Egeria smiled while walking into the water very carefully. "Oh, my children. I love all of you." Her sense was stronger than a normal symbiote, and she could identify each of them. "I have heard that not all of you have names yet. Why is this?"

"Name us!" called out the nameless ones.

The queen smiled. These names were not very important. They were temporary, and they gave them to themselves and each other. Many had also been named by her older children, but in every batch of larvae, there were always some who seemed to resist names until she brought it up. "I will name you, but you must be thinking of the names you will have once you blend..." She looked among them before picking up the one who had bragged about being older. "You are the oldest of this group. You shall be called, First."

First squealed.

Young One watched as they were named. It had grown to like it's own name. There were many great Tok'ra who had the same prehost name, including Per'sus. It had no idea what to name itself, but it'd have to come up with a name just as great as they had. It began thinking of this, wondering how to pick a name. Did it by the sound alone. No, there should be a meaning. Maybe it should select a meaning first.

"Who has been neglected?" Egeria asked.

Young One squealed and swam closer.

Egeria began picking them each up. She watched as one tried to get in again. "I've petted you already," she said while giving it's back a quick stroke before picking up another. "Young One."

_Squeal!_ Young One enjoyed the attention before being set into the water. The time was too short though, and she soon had to leave. Young One watched as Per'sus approached her.

"We have found some hosts for the oldest."

"They understand the danger?"

"Most are dying, and they would rather live with the danger."

She laced her fingers into his, not responding right away. There was no need. He knew the next steps. There were other issues to be concerned about. "It may be a while before I see you..." She glanced to the lake. "...or any of my children again."

"We'll keep them safe until you return."

"You leaving?" Young One squealed. It as the only one still by the shore.

Egeria looked back and gestured from Per'sus to Young One. At first, the larva thought it was in trouble for listening in on them. Instead, it was picked up and brought to its queen. She was always so gentle while holding her children. "You understand our mission?"

"Yes."

"With such a mission, we must all sacrifice. I must win this battle to free many humans."

"Free."

"You understand." She held the larva closer before kissing Per'sus.

"I should be going with you."

"You have symbiotes who will soon be in need of hosts, and larvae who need growing up." She put Young One in his hands. "Take care of them."

Per'sus gave a nod before watching her leave.

Noticing he was sad, Young One gave him a gentle nip.

The leader looked down. "I believe I am to take care of you, not the other way around."

_Squeak!_

"I miss her too."

-Day 13-

Young One watched as unblended humans were brought to the shore.

"Hosts," First explained. "We losing many siblings to them."

Young One swam around her. "Blend!" It would be years before it could.

"Me first."

"No!"

"Older!"

Young One bit it. It wasn't enough to cause any damage, and it wasn't the first to bite out of annoyance.

"Ow!"

With so many in the lake, at first no one noticed they were fighting. They called names and nipped at each other until a symbiote from the older batch came and squealed at them. They put the fight behind them and went to the beach. Humans and symbiotes spoke to each other, with help with the hosted humans to translate. Then they left to some near buildings, and Young One was disappointed that they couldn't watch. It ended up leaving and playing with some fish instead.

-Day 14-

Young One woke up hearing commands to come to the shore. It felt worried, sensing a panic that its older siblings felt. It swam to the shore quickly, and it was picked up with a tight grip. "Ow!" It was quickly put into a tank with others. There was no room to swim!

There was a new sibling there, giving orders to the other. Young One quickly identified her as Selmak, though they had never met. "Be thorough! We may not be able to return!"

Young One squeaked confusion, though the siblings sharing its tank were just as confused. It watched its siblings put into other tanks, and they were soon hurried towards the stargate. Young One tried it's best not to be jostled. It had no idea what was going on, but it knew this was unusual.

The rest of the day was a state of confusion and fear. It was taken to a new planet and brought into buildings. The tank was put down on the floor, and it watched as a new setup was made. "No lake?"

There was no response, and Young One had to wait a while before it was put into a large tank.

"Are you comfortable?" Selmak asked.

"Yes."

"We may have to move again... I have...unfortunate news." Selmak looked to the various tanks, not wanting anyone to feel left out. "As you may know, our queen went into battle. She lost the battle."

"Humans not free?" Young One asked.

"No, and... Our queen has been killed."

_Squeal!_ Young One cried.

"It has become more dangerous."

"Queeeen!" Young One curled up.

Selmak felt sick herself, but that was something she'd have to deal with later. She gave attention to the larvae who wanted it, assuring each that they would continue her fight against the Goa'uld.

Young One didn't want any attention. It stayed at the bottom of the tank and blocked the world away.

-Month 2-

As Per'sus walked into the room, Young One realized it had not seem him since before their queen's death. It was almost assuring at first. Yes, they would survive this. However, he held a stoic expression. His smile was gone. There wasn't even a look of anger or sadness, just eery nothingness. He looked to the Tok'ra who was feeding them. "How are they?"

"Adjusting."

He looked over them, not really stopping at any particular one, though Young One saw some were trying to get his attention. It watched as he left without another word.

Adjustment was slow. Some Tok'ra, like Selmak, made a point to giving them attention. Some only did what had to be done before leaving. Tankhood was lonely. Young One couldn't swim around like it had before. Most if what were its playmates were in other tanks. From time to time it was moved to another tank, and it often bickered with the others, especially First. There were times that they were rushed to a new world, and it wasn't uncommon for Tok'ra to just disappearing. It wasn't hard to figure out their fate. Everything was a constant reminder that it had lost its beloved queen. Larvahood seemed slow and painful.

By the time it was old enough, it couldn't wait to blend. "Hosts!" it squealed as people were brought in.

"They are excited to meet you," Selmak said to the humans.

Some of the humans looked worried as soon as they saw the larvae, not having known what they would look like. However, one woman clasped her hands together and smiled. "They are adorable!"

"You will learn a great deal from each other, and you will learn more together." Selmak gestured. "Talk to them. I will translate what they say."

Other Tok'ra were there, helping some of the humans to move. The oldest larvae were selected, and Young One watched in envy as they spoke to the humans. When a connection was made, a human and larva would leave.

"Good luck," Young One squealed as First left with the woman who had called them all adorable. With first time blendings like these, something would go wrong from time to time, and in such a case, neither host nor larva survived the blending process. It may have fought a lot with First, but it still cared about all of them.

"Thank you," First squealed back as they left.

Young One waited. There were only a couple humans left, still deciding. Young One passed the time by circling and spinning.

Several minutes passed, but new hosts began coming back. They often gave a quick hello to the larva before leaving again. Several more minutes passed before First returned. Like the others, she was greeted with a chorus of squeals.

"Do you have a new name?" Selmak asked.

A name? Young One worried. It had been thinking so much about getting justice for Egeria that it hadn't been thinking about a name. It needed a name!

First smiled. "Anise."

Young One knew she wasn't much older. Only by minutes. She suddenly seemed older though. It circled and squeaked.

"Young One," Anise acknowledged before leaving.

The process didn't last much longer, and Young One one felt lonelier that night.

The week after was aggravating. Young One swam in circles, wanting to blend. It watched the older ones do this, which was annoying. It wasn't its fault it was minutes or even seconds younger. At least it had time to come up with a name.

Finally, they enough hosts for everyone left. Some larvae wanted to be male or female, and the Tok'ra had done their best to accommodate, but Young One didn't have a preference. It didn't fully understand the difference anyway. There was also discussion of matching larvae to hosts. Some larvae were deemed weaker, and they were given to hosts who were healthier.

Needless to say, Young One was a bit insulted when it was placed in front of a healthy man. "I'm not weak!"

The man looked up for translation before looking down to the larva. In his late fifties, he was almost three times as old as the larva, and he knew he was dealing with a very proud teenager. "Maybe I am," he said with a smile.

Young One opened it's jaws as it looked over him. He was old, but he didn't look weak. "You walk on your own."

"Not all weakness is physical," the man added with sadness. "I have lost..." He shook his head. "...a great deal to the Goa'uld."

Young One squealed in anger for the man's loss.

"I would like to join the rebellion with you."

"Justice!"

"Justice," the man agreed.

Nothing else needed to be said. Holding his new soulmate, he walked to a new room where he was instructed to lie down. He rested Young One on his chest.

"I quick," Young One promised as it edged closer his mouth. It could see he was anticipating the pain that would come with its need to burrow.

"Thank you."

Memories about what to do became fresh in its mind. Young One edged closer still before jumping down his throat.

Burrow. Find placement. Wrap. Heal. _Hello._

The man smiled. _Hello, Young One._

_I eased your pain._

_Thank you._

"Hello," was Selmak's voice.

Young One realized he was in control. He slowly sat up and flexed his fingers. It was strange to have limbs.

"How do you feel?"

"Wow."

Selmak smiled. "It's strange at first."

Young One ran his fingers along his arm while smiling.

_I am going to enjoy watching you make such discoveries_, the host thought.

"Try running them through your hair," Selmak suggested.

Young One ran his fingers through his hair before laughing. He brought his legs over the side of the bed. "I have memories of this..."

"The real thing is better than someone else's memories." Selmak smiled as she watched him stand. "Be careful."

He held a large grin while he walked.

"All thanks to your host."

"Oh, I am grateful." Young One moved his arms up, wanting to somehow hug him. "I..." _Thank you. _"I must take care of him."

"You must take care of each other."

"Yes." He knew the beliefs of his queen. He accepted them. He took them in like as his own, but this was the first time he truly understood them.

"Do you have a name?"

He thought about it. _Do you like it?_

_It's your name. Not mine._

_But do you like it?_

_Yes, I like it._

"Yes. My name is Malek."

"It is a good name."

"Yes," Malek agreed while doing half a twirl.

His host laughed. _I haven't twirled since I was young._

_Do you want to twirl?_

_It's different than in the water_, he responded, not really answering, but looking at Malek's memories instead.

_It is. _Malek suddenly picked up on his host remembering how his children twirled. He felt a darkness move over him. _Your family..._

The sorrow and anger was shared. _I miss them as you miss your queen._

Malek touched his arm before sitting down.

Selmak recognized that pain. She knew Malek's hurt, and she knew the history of his host. She moved closer and touched his shoulder. "All the memories you need are there. Give yourself time."

"We...we will heal together."

"Yes."

Malek hugged himself. _I promise._

_We will figure this out together._

Malek smiled.

~End


End file.
